Night 60: Sun Room
[From here]Hakkai slipped into the room, playing his flashlight around the wide space to see if there were any foes - or friends. For the moment, though, it looked like he was alone. He stuck close to the wall, keeping an eye out as he skirted the edge of the room to the bulletin board, but still nobody. Had the person he was supposed to be meeting
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Well. No indication that he might be attacked anytime soon. So far, so good? The smile stayed on the other man's face though, so it seemed their interactions were to remain civil for the time being. Good. It was much easier to talk things out as opposed to fighting it out. It might work with Hiei or Yusuke, and occasionally, even with Kurama himself, but there were still too many variables with questions marks on them. And Kurama had no way of telling how long this man had been here, either. He hadn't the time to test out his own power limits yet, which was certainly a disadvantage. So yes, it was better to keep it to words.
"Yes, we did," Kurama affirmed. "And likewise, a pleasure to meet you, as well." Cho Hakkai. Somehow, that name sounded familiar, but he couldn't place where he'd heard it before. He set that aside for now. He'd have time later to think on.
"My name actually isn't Seimei," he continued, bringing his flashlight up to his own face so the other could see his expression clearly. He wasn't lying and he was taking a chance in being truthful. Kurama hoped that would be would be interpreted, anyway. "I apologize for lying to you, but I didn't want to give my name out in public."
He paused as the door to the Sun Room opened, admitting a small group of people. Fellow 'patients,' it seemed. With most of his concentration still focused on still masking his youki, Kurama couldn't tell much about any of the people in that group, but they didn't seem to have much interest in him, anyway. One of them, a spike-haired youth, waved, but he and the group ultimately went onward through the doors on the far-side from the entrance.
"An acquaintance of yours?" Kurama asked, once they had gone.
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He turned his focus back to his current conversation partner. "Aah, I've met them before. Briefly." And under rather trying circumstances at that, though he didn't want to bring that up - but he had the sneaking suspicion that what had happened last night might surface eventually."
"And no need to apologize - though I think you're rather more concerned about privacy than many here." Observation, rather than criticism, but he had to admit a certain curiosity in the man's ways. He knew that names weren't meaningless, having shed one himself - but he didn't think sharing it would be the key to any particular sort of power over him, either.
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As well as the fact that as of now, he had no idea who exactly he could trust and how much he could trust them. At least, not until things became clearer to him.
"Anyway, should I call you Cho-san?" he continued after a pause. "We should probably move to someplace else to talk. It seems we both have things we'd rather not have other people know about."
He turned back toward the Sun Room's double doors. Wary as he was still of his new acquaintance, it seemed Hakkai was even more high-strung than he was. Not at all like the enemy Kurama might have expected. In fact, it seemed almost like the other man was even more nervous than he was.
"Where would you prefer to go?" Kurama asked. "I recall you saying you didn't want your roommate to know too much. I made sure my roommate was gone before I left and locked the door. It's your pick."
Meanwhile, Kurama tried to decide how he should really introduce himself as. 'Kurama' was a name that was already well-known from his earlier, thieving days and it had only become more prevalent on the mouths of gossiping demons. What with his involvement with Koenma and Reikai, as well as his newest affiliation with Yomi's kingdom, he imagined it was fairly recognizable.
But then again, this man had mentioned once being human. There were several ways that could have happened and Kurama could not claim to know all the details to that. Hakkai had seemed to declare a strong allegiance toward Ningenkai, though. From the bulletin, it had seemed that he was ashamed of his new status as a demon.
"I've introduced myself as 'Minamino Shuuichi' to others here," Kurama said eventually. "And that is my real name, but it's not my only name."
Well, that was almost true. Partially true, he'd like to believe. Minamino Shuuichi should have been born a normal human baby. Instead, a demon had stolen Shuuichi's place in the world. So could he really be given the right to the name that Minamino Shiori had given her son? But there wasn't really an answer to that question, he knew.
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He trailed just behind the other man, a little relieved to be leaving the Sun Room. Too big, too hard to see in this darkness, even with the flashlights. Not good for his nerves. Though it looked at least as if things weren't going to come to a fight between the two of them, right now. Not that it dismissed the possibility he was being led off to be killed elsewhere - but he'd survived a lot.
He could not, however, quite hide his surprise at the revelation about Shuuichi's name - or names, rather. There was more than one reason for someone to bear multiple names - Sanzo, after all, had been someone else before inheriting his title - but the odd coincidences between himself and this stranger struck deep. Hakkai was silent as he pushed the doors open, and headed into the hallway.
[To here]
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